U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,211 (McConnell and Isenga) was issued May 9, 1989 and is assigned to the assignee of the present invention. This patent discloses a holder for beverage containers and the like for steadily, but removeably and replaceably, supporting such a beverage container in a vehicle or vessel, despite fore and aft or sideways rocking motion, so as to prevent spilling of the contents of the beverage container when the vehicle or vessel is underway. This prior holder is mountable on an upwardly extending surface, such as a bulkhead or a cockpit sidewall of a boat, for holding a beverage container in a convenient location. Such prior holder is foldable into a relatively compact box-like configuration so as to protrude less far from the supporting surface of the vehicle or vessel when not in use. The prior holder has a back panel adapted to seat against and be supported by the upwardly extending surface of the vehicle or vessel, and provided along its lower edge with a pivot connection for a base panel. Thus, the base panel can be folded up to close the holder and folded down to a horizontal position to support the bottom of a beverage container. In addition, the back panel has a pivot connection along its upper edge for a clamp member which extends forwardly substantially horizontally from the back panel and is width adjustable for gripping the mid or upper portion of a beverage container to prevent sideways displacement or tilting of such beverage container, while yet permitting the beverage container to be plucked upwardly out of contact with the holder for drinking. This upper pivot connection permits the empty clamp member to be pivoted downward against the back panel and subsequently covered by upward pivoting of the base panel to establish the folded condition of the holder. Vertically extending, metal leaf springs extend substantially the height of the back panel and have centers fixed to the front face thereof by rivets. The springs have lower ends bearing on the back portion of the base panel and upper ends bearing on the back portion of the clamp member for resilient deflection to permit the user to fold and unfold the base panel and clamp member with respect to the back panel, but to otherwise resiliently keep the base panel and clamp member in their respective folded (closed) positions and forwardly extending, substantially horizontal (use) positions. Pivoting of the base panel with respect to the back panel is by coaxial, circular cross-section pins protruding laterally outward from opposite sides of the back portion of the back panel and pivotly received in corresponding coaxial, circular cross-section holes in corresponding laterally spaced sides of the base panel adjacent the bottom edge thereof. Similarly, the clamp member has coaxial, effectively circular cross-section pins laterally extending from opposite lateral ends thereof and pivotly received in corresponding circular cross-section holes in the top portion of a forwardly extending flange at opposite lateral edges of the back panel. The effective circular cross-section pins of the clamp member are each formed by a diametrically split pin defined by semi-circular cross-section half pins extending laterally from the ends of an H-shaped base of the clamp member and which, when installed in the finished holder, come diametrically together to effectively form a circular cross-section pin.
This prior foldable beverage container holder has proved to be functionally and commercially advantageous. However, in a continuing effort to improve same, the present invention has been developed. The present invention is thus intended to improve the prior device disclosed in aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,211 in several respects.